


Cold Christmas Nights

by royalworldtraveler



Series: elioliver, a series of oneshots [6]
Category: Call Me By Your Name (2017), Call Me By Your Name - All Media Types, Call Me by Your Name - André Aciman
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Elio is a Sophomore, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Oliver is a Senior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 10:31:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17181299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royalworldtraveler/pseuds/royalworldtraveler
Summary: the most brilliant light show in america doesn’t compare to the simple beauty of your smile, elio.





	Cold Christmas Nights

**Author's Note:**

> happy holidays!

Lights. Hundreds of them are about to paint their little city with glittering red, green, and gold.

 

From Oliver’s special spot on the edge of the canyon, they’ll have an exceptional view of the town’s Christmas tradition—the Lights Night. A complete blackout until midnight of the twenty-fourth, followed by the greatest concentration of Christmas lights in the United States. Ever since Oliver got his driver’s permit at fifteen, he and Elio made their own tradition: making the twenty minute drive up the canyon to see the view on Christmas Eve.

 

Their spot, lovingly dubbed “Monet’s Berm” by Elio, was home to many firsts for them. First cigarette. First joint—subsequently, of course, their first life-altering, existentialistic, drug-induced conversation. When they finally sorted themselves out, their first kiss. First handjob. First “I love you.”

 

Now, on Christmas Eve of 2018, just before the last semester of Oliver’s high school career, Monet’s Berm is home to their last shared Lights Night.

 

It’s nearly midnight. They’re sitting on his truck bed, legs dangling from the edge, facing the town. The silence between them is tangible. Elio is steadfastly looking out at the black pit, and Oliver is steadfastly looking at the curves and edges of his profile. He tries to make out the expression on his face, but in near total darkness, it’s proving to be difficult. He can’t read him.

 

In the end, Elio ends up breaking the quiet.

 

“Ever see the irony in two gay jewish kids making such a big deal out of a Christmas tradition?” Elio smiles, but it’s forced. He still won’t look back at him. Oliver can’t stand it.

 

His hand inches towards Elio’s, where it lays limp on the truck bed. Their pinkies touch, and Elio interlocks their fingers. Oliver takes this as an invitation to pull him into his side, so he does. He tugs on Elio’s hand—a gentle whisper of a motion—and envelops his boyfriend into a hug.

 

Oliver sighs against his head. “What’s on your mind?”

 

He feels a sharp exhale against his chest, and then the burrowing of Elio’s nose. No words.

 

Oliver toys with his curls, tugging and playing with the strands, a comforting mechanism that he adopted from Annella.

 

Elio shifts so his face is smushed up against Oliver’s neck. Soft breaths tickle his jawline. Finally, he speaks.

 

“I love you more than anything, Ollie,” he starts. His voice wavers. “And I don’t want you to go.”

 

Oliver doesn’t need to ask him to clarify. His senior year is on its way to the end. Elio’s a sophomore. Oliver will get into a good university, far from their little New England town. Elio will stay here, and finish his high school career in two years. Two whole years. A lot can happen in two years. Oliver can’t bear to think about it.

 

“You know I don’t want to leave you,” Oliver whispers. It’s true. He doesn’t want to leave. He doesn’t want Elio to find someone else. He doesn’t want Elio to forget about him, or worse, to hold the abandonment against him and never want to see him or speak to him again.

 

More than anything else, though, he wants Elio to be happy.

 

“I can hear you thinking,” Elio accuses. He lifts his head, and Oliver sees the shine of tears surrounding those beautiful doe-eyes of his. He’s pouting, but trying to hide it. It isn’t working. “Say something.”

 

It took Oliver a long while to accept that he can cry, that he can feel things, that it’s all good for his long-term health. Samuel has taught him this through the years, and Elio has echoed his father’s message every time something like this happens. Still, a part of him doesn’t want to seem weak. He can’t be weak right now; he’s supposed to be the rock in this relationship. The older one, the wiser one, the more experienced one.

 

Elio is patient, but the drumming of his fingers against Oliver’s thigh gives him away. He’s nervous.

 

Oliver looks out at the dark before starting. “Every night until about age thirteen, my mom would tuck me into bed and lay with me. I had the worst nightmares back then. Dark ones. My sisters dying, or Archie running away, or my father hitting me like he did sometimes. Needless to say, I lost a lot of sleep as a kid. No matter what, though, my mom would stay with me and say some things to get me to relax. She didn’t know I was...queer, you know, so she would always make it a girl—but. She would tell me about how bright my future would be. She told me that one day, when I grew up a bit, I would meet someone who would get rid of my nightmares without even trying. And then I met you, and the nightmares went away.”

 

Elio’s rubbing at his eyes furiously now. A few harsh tears run down his face. He is still so beautiful.

 

“Elio, what I feel for you surpasses anything I’ve ever felt before. I hope you’ve received the message, after these last few years.” Oliver smiles at him, wipes under his eyes with the pad of his thumb. Elio leans into his touch. “That being said...I don’t want you to feel held back because of me.”

 

Elio begins to protest, but Oliver won’t have it. “No, Elio, I mean it. I know you’re sad I’m leaving, but you should never—God. Please don’t wait for me if you don’t want to. If it gets too hard...”

 

Oliver registers a quick, soft slap at his cheek. Elio...slapped him.

 

“Oliver Aronowitz, you better not be breaking up with me, or I swear to _fuck_ , I’ll drive off with your own car and leave you here to freeze.”

 

One look at Elio makes him smile so incredibly wide. “I’m so in love with you. Of course I’m not breaking up with you, you goose—“

 

Oliver barely gets the words out before his boyfriend is grabbing at his hoodie and pulling him in for a kiss. He struggles to keep up, but once he does, his heart feels like it’s going to burst out of his chest.

 

The kiss is sweet enough, but there’s something so desperate behind Elio’s lips. Something in the soft noises in the back of Elio’s throat that are swallowed as the kiss intensifies. Elio licks at the seam of Oliver’s lips, prompting them to open, and then Elio is doing that little sucking thing he does to Oliver’s tongue—

 

The lights!

 

“Elio, wait.” Oliver pulls away with a solid smacking sound. Elio audibly whines, like a child whose lollipop has been snatched out of his mouth—still staring at Oliver’s lips like he absolutely can’t wait to lick them again.

 

“What?” he whispers.

 

He nudges Elio’s nose towards the view before them. Hundreds of bright fairy lights litter the city, shining red and white in striped patterns and gold in clumps like stars. Oliver watches as Elio’s eyes go wide.

 

“You know what, Olly?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“These lights won’t be nearly as pretty without you to watch them with me.”

 

Oliver smiles. “Easy fix,” he says. “I’ll have to come back every Christmas and join you.”

 

*

 

the most brilliant light show in america doesn’t compare to the simple beauty of your smile, elio

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas if you celebrate it :)
> 
> just finished marathoning the entire harry potter film series...which means a hogwarts AU is probably on the way. would anyone like that? harry potter smut (tm)??
> 
> kudos if you liked! comment if you feel so strongly inclined (or if you’re actually keeping up with this series, i can’t tell if people like it) - i read every single one, and they never fail to make my day a little bit better.
> 
> royalworldtraveler on tumblr for cuteness and pictures of timothee chalamet.
> 
> love!


End file.
